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Displaying items by tag: Junior Sailing

The National Yacht Club is currently seeking to recruit a team of committed and enthusiastic assistant instructors for its 2019 summer courses for junior sailors.

Prospective candidates must apply before next Monday 22 April.

This is a great opportunity to learn from the NYC’s qualified coaches and instructors how to lead and deliver sessions on training courses.

For more details visit the dedicated Facebook page.

Junior summer courses begin with the first two-week session from Tuesday 4 to Friday 14 June.

Four more courses will fun over the summer, from 17 June, 1 July (one week due to the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta), 15 July and 29 July.

It is planned to cary on extra levels this year, such as junior adventure and advanced boat handling for kites and wires.

And this summer will continue the successful teenage sailing courses, along with the mew ‘Teen Team’ course. For details on all courses see the NYC website HERE.

The NYC also recently announced dates for its Friday night junior sailing series starting on 3 May.

Published in National YC
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The National Yacht Club us putting out a call for its Friday night junior sailing series which this year runs for eight weeks from Friday 3 May.

There will be two races each Friday inside Dun Laoghaire Harbour, with first gun at 6pm.

Entry is open to all NYC Junior sailors under 19 years of age on 1 January 2019 and who have passed ISA Improving Skills.

The purpose of Friday night junior racing is to encourage young sailors to improve their race sailing skills — and the club says the event is dependent on all parents volunteering to help out on at least one evening.

“Volunteering is a great way to meet up with old friends, make new ones and learn new skills,” says the NYC’s Sarah Gorman.

“Don’t be put off and think you cant help. We cannot run this event without your help and it is expected that you volunteer if you have a sailor entered into the event.”

Online entry will open soon — see NYC.ie for more details.

Published in National YC

Remember all those happy summer days and friendships made at the DBSC Junior Section at the West Pier in Dun Laoghaire? Seeing that it is 60 years ago when it all started in that summer of 1959, a group of Dublin Bay sailors have decided that is time for a class reunion!

The reunion will be held on Friday 12th April 2019 at the Royal St George Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire.

Jimmy Mooney George Craig H Thompson Sean Hooper Terry RocheJimmy Mooney, George Craig, H Thompson, Sean Hooper and Terry Roche

The class of 1959 was the real start of junior sailing in Dun Laoghaire - before juniors or junior sections were part of the waterfront yacht club scene. It started circa 1959 based at the West Pier.

"The class of 1959 was the real start of junior sailing in Dun Laoghaire"

Now, sixty years later, much like the Fireball class reunion held in 2016 the West Pier Reunion group are trying to get the database of people together and while they have a good list already (some 250 names, download below), organiser Ciara Dowling is seeking assistance in tracing some of the original juniors.  'We are still missing people and a lot of contacts it would be great if Afloat readers could go through the attached list and send details to Ciara at [email protected] before 4th March 2019.

Peter Dobbs holding 12 footer Cora with Vincent Delany on the slipway Peter Dobbs holding 12 footer Cora with Vincent Delany on the slipway

Owen Delany Paddy Breen Noelle Breen launch 12 footer CoraOwen Delany, Paddy Breen and Noelle Breen launch 12 footer Cora

Mr Smalldridge Sean Hooper Geoirge Craig Billy MooneyMr Smalldridge, Sean Hooper, George Craig and Billy Mooney

Lynda MacFarlane Heather Rogerson Brian MacManus Des Thorpe Colin McMullen Sep 1967Lynda MacFarlane, Heather Rogerson, Brian MacManus, Des Thorpe and Colin McMullen

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Bray Sailing Club took another big step forward this week in their efforts to regenerate junior dinghy sailing in the North Wicklow club with their largest Junior Regatta fleet in many years. Strongly supported by their neighbours in Greystones SC, who sailed north with a fleet of 13 boats, the 43 boats and over 70 junior sailors enjoyed four races over approximately four hours of racing in a steady force 3 south-easterly breeze.

As with most junior regattas, the three fleets encompassed a wide range of abilities, ranging from complete newcomers to sailing to the old hands trying to bag one last victory in their final Junior event. However, what was not in short supply was enthusiasm and competiveness, as evidenced by two general recalls, and a number of individual recalls.

The courses comprised a mixture of windward-leeward and triangles, with different configurations for each race to keep the youngsters on their toes. Results are available to here.

Bray Sailing Club is running a nine week junior training programme this year and has a number of exciting initiatives in the pipeline to make sailing more accessible to members of their local community, including plans for an Irish language sailing course in early 2018. Despite the difficulties caused by the recent silting in Bray Harbour, the club has experienced a significant increase in adult membership in the last few years, many of whom are parents following their children into sailing.

Published in Youth Sailing

Euro Car Parks today presented Howth Yacht Club with a brand new Laser Pico to be used for junior sailing. 
At the handover, Dave Cullen commented ... 
"We are delighted to support junior sailing in Howth Yacht Club and are ever keen to promote and encourage new children into the sport. This Pico will enable parents to try their kids out in sailing without having to purchase a boat and it will be available to rent at a nominal charge for the summer courses. 

It is essential that the life blood of our Club, sailing, continues to grow and we as a Company are proud to support the growing activity in this vital area". 

Euro Car Parks were earlier this year honoured as Irish Independent Best Workplace in Ireland 2010 and have recently opened their latest 900 space car park at The O2 in Dublin.

Published in Howth YC
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Irish Olympic Sailing Team

Ireland has a proud representation in sailing at the Olympics dating back to 1948. Today there is a modern governing structure surrounding the selection of sailors the Olympic Regatta

Irish Olympic Sailing FAQs

Ireland’s representation in sailing at the Olympics dates back to 1948, when a team consisting of Jimmy Mooney (Firefly), Alf Delany and Hugh Allen (Swallow) competed in that year’s Summer Games in London (sailing off Torquay). Except for the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Ireland has sent at least one sailor to every Summer Games since then.

  • 1948 – London (Torquay) — Firefly: Jimmy Mooney; Swallow: Alf Delany, Hugh Allen
  • 1952 – Helsinki — Finn: Alf Delany * 1956 – Melbourne — Finn: J Somers Payne
  • 1960 – Rome — Flying Dutchman: Johnny Hooper, Peter Gray; Dragon: Jimmy Mooney, David Ryder, Robin Benson; Finn: J Somers Payne
  • 1964 – Tokyo — Dragon: Eddie Kelliher, Harry Maguire, Rob Dalton; Finn: Johnny Hooper 
  • 1972 – Munich (Kiel) — Tempest: David Wilkins, Sean Whitaker; Dragon: Robin Hennessy, Harry Byrne, Owen Delany; Finn: Kevin McLaverty; Flying Dutchman: Harold Cudmore, Richard O’Shea
  • 1976 – Montreal (Kingston) — 470: Robert Dix, Peter Dix; Flying Dutchman: Barry O’Neill, Jamie Wilkinson; Tempest: David Wilkins, Derek Jago
  • 1980 – Moscow (Tallinn) — Flying Dutchman: David Wilkins, Jamie Wilkinson (Silver medalists) * 1984 – Los Angeles — Finn: Bill O’Hara
  • 1988 – Seoul (Pusan) — Finn: Bill O’Hara; Flying Dutchman: David Wilkins, Peter Kennedy; 470 (Women): Cathy MacAleavy, Aisling Byrne
  • 1992 – Barcelona — Europe: Denise Lyttle; Flying Dutchman: David Wilkins, Peter Kennedy; Star: Mark Mansfield, Tom McWilliam
  • 1996 – Atlanta (Savannah) — Laser: Mark Lyttle; Europe: Aisling Bowman (Byrne); Finn: John Driscoll; Star: Mark Mansfield, David Burrows; 470 (Women): Denise Lyttle, Louise Cole; Soling: Marshall King, Dan O’Grady, Garrett Connolly
  • 2000 – Sydney — Europe: Maria Coleman; Finn: David Burrows; Star: Mark Mansfield, David O'Brien
  • 2004 – Athens — Europe: Maria Coleman; Finn: David Burrows; Star: Mark Mansfield, Killian Collins; 49er: Tom Fitzpatrick, Fraser Brown; 470: Gerald Owens, Ross Killian; Laser: Rory Fitzpatrick
  • 2008 – Beijing (Qingdao) — Star: Peter O’Leary, Stephen Milne; Finn: Tim Goodbody; Laser Radial: Ciara Peelo; 470: Gerald Owens, Phil Lawton
  • 2012 – London (Weymouth) — Star: Peter O’Leary, David Burrows; 49er: Ryan Seaton, Matt McGovern; Laser Radial: Annalise Murphy; Laser: James Espey; 470: Gerald Owens, Scott Flanigan
  • 2016 – Rio — Laser Radial (Women): Annalise Murphy (Silver medalist); 49er: Ryan Seaton, Matt McGovern; 49erFX: Andrea Brewster, Saskia Tidey; Laser: Finn Lynch; Paralympic Sonar: John Twomey, Ian Costello & Austin O’Carroll

Ireland has won two Olympics medals in sailing events, both silver: David Wilkins, Jamie Wilkinson in the Flying Dutchman at Moscow 1980, and Annalise Murphy in the Laser Radial at Rio 2016.

The current team, as of December 2020, consists of Laser sailors Finn Lynch, Liam Glynn and Ewan McMahon, 49er pairs Ryan Seaton and Seafra Guilfoyle, and Sean Waddilove and Robert Dickson, as well as Laser Radial sailors Annalise Murphy and Aoife Hopkins.

Irish Sailing is the National Governing Body for sailing in Ireland.

Irish Sailing’s Performance division is responsible for selecting and nurturing Olympic contenders as part of its Performance Pathway.

The Performance Pathway is Irish Sailing’s Olympic talent pipeline. The Performance Pathway counts over 70 sailors from 11 years up in its programme.The Performance Pathway is made up of Junior, Youth, Academy, Development and Olympic squads. It provides young, talented and ambitious Irish sailors with opportunities to move up through the ranks from an early age. With up to 100 young athletes training with the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway, every aspect of their performance is planned and closely monitored while strong relationships are simultaneously built with the sailors and their families

Rory Fitzpatrick is the head coach of Irish Sailing Performance. He is a graduate of University College Dublin and was an Athens 2004 Olympian in the Laser class.

The Performance Director of Irish Sailing is James O’Callaghan. Since 2006 James has been responsible for the development and delivery of athlete-focused, coach-led, performance-measured programmes across the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway. A Business & Economics graduate of Trinity College Dublin, he is a Level 3 Qualified Coach and Level 2 Coach Tutor. He has coached at five Olympic Games and numerous European and World Championship events across multiple Olympic classes. He is also a member of the Irish Sailing Foundation board.

Annalise Murphy is by far and away the biggest Irish sailing star. Her fourth in London 2012 when she came so agonisingly close to a bronze medal followed by her superb silver medal performance four years later at Rio won the hearts of Ireland. Murphy is aiming to go one better in Tokyo 2021. 

Under head coach Rory Fitzpatrick, the coaching staff consists of Laser Radial Academy coach Sean Evans, Olympic Laser coach Vasilij Zbogar and 49er team coach Matt McGovern.

The Irish Government provides funding to Irish Sailing. These funds are exclusively for the benefit of the Performance Pathway. However, this falls short of the amount required to fund the Performance Pathway in order to allow Ireland compete at the highest level. As a result the Performance Pathway programme currently receives around €850,000 per annum from Sport Ireland and €150,000 from sponsorship. A further €2 million per annum is needed to have a major impact at the highest level. The Irish Sailing Foundation was established to bridge the financial gap through securing philanthropic donations, corporate giving and sponsorship.

The vision of the Irish Sailing Foundation is to generate the required financial resources for Ireland to scale-up and execute its world-class sailing programme. Irish Sailing works tirelessly to promote sailing in Ireland and abroad and has been successful in securing funding of 1 million euro from Sport Ireland. However, to compete on a par with other nations, a further €2 million is required annually to realise the ambitions of our talented sailors. For this reason, the Irish Sailing Foundation was formed to seek philanthropic donations. Led by a Board of Directors and Head of Development Kathryn Grace, the foundation lads a campaign to bridge the financial gap to provide the Performance Pathway with the funds necessary to increase coaching hours, upgrade equipment and provide world class sport science support to a greater number of high-potential Irish sailors.

The Senior and Academy teams of the Performance Pathway are supported with the provision of a coach, vehicle, coach boat and boats. Even with this level of subsidy there is still a large financial burden on individual families due to travel costs, entry fees and accommodation. There are often compromises made on the amount of days a coach can be hired for and on many occasions it is necessary to opt out of major competitions outside Europe due to cost. Money raised by the Irish Sailing Foundation will go towards increased quality coaching time, world-class equipment, and subsiding entry fees and travel-related costs. It also goes towards broadening the base of talented sailors that can consider campaigning by removing financial hurdles, and the Performance HQ in Dublin to increase efficiency and reduce logistical issues.

The ethos of the Performance Pathway is progression. At each stage international performance benchmarks are utilised to ensure the sailors are meeting expectations set. The size of a sailor will generally dictate which boat they sail. The classes selected on the pathway have been identified as the best feeder classes for progression. Currently the Irish Sailing Performance Pathway consists of the following groups: * Pathway (U15) Optimist and Topper * Youth Academy (U19) Laser 4.7, Laser Radial and 420 * Development Academy (U23) Laser, Laser Radial, 49er, 49erFX * Team IRL (direct-funded athletes) Laser, Laser Radial, 49er, 49erFX

The Irish Sailing performance director produces a detailed annual budget for the programme which is presented to Sport Ireland, Irish Sailing and the Foundation for detailed discussion and analysis of the programme, where each item of expenditure is reviewed and approved. Each year, the performance director drafts a Performance Plan and Budget designed to meet the objectives of Irish Performance Sailing based on an annual review of the Pathway Programmes from Junior to Olympic level. The plan is then presented to the Olympic Steering Group (OSG) where it is independently assessed and the budget is agreed. The OSG closely monitors the delivery of the plan ensuring it meets the agreed strategy, is within budget and in line with operational plans. The performance director communicates on an ongoing basis with the OSG throughout the year, reporting formally on a quarterly basis.

Due to the specialised nature of Performance Sport, Irish Sailing established an expert sub-committee which is referred to as the Olympic Steering Group (OSG). The OSG is chaired by Patrick Coveney and its objective is centred around winning Olympic medals so it oversees the delivery of the Irish Sailing’s Performance plan.

At Junior level (U15) sailors learn not only to be a sailor but also an athlete. They develop the discipline required to keep a training log while undertaking fitness programmes, attending coaching sessions and travelling to competitions. During the winter Regional Squads take place and then in spring the National Squads are selected for Summer Competitions. As sailors move into Youth level (U19) there is an exhaustive selection matrix used when considering a sailor for entry into the Performance Academy. Completion of club training programmes, attendance at the performance seminars, physical suitability and also progress at Junior and Youth competitions are assessed and reviewed. Once invited in to the Performance Academy, sailors are given a six-month trial before a final decision is made on their selection. Sailors in the Academy are very closely monitored and engage in a very well planned out sailing, training and competition programme. There are also defined international benchmarks which these sailors are required to meet by a certain age. Biannual reviews are conducted transparently with the sailors so they know exactly where they are performing well and they are made aware of where they may need to improve before the next review.

©Afloat 2020